Saatchi's CEO Michael Rebelo paid tribute to Stapleton, describing him as a great creative leader, one of the funniest and nicest guys in the business who will be missed by all: "On behalf of the whole George Street team, we wish Damon and his family all the very best as they embark on a new adventure.

"Damon has been a key part of the team that have taken Saatchi &
Saatchi Sydney to where it is today. There is still lots more to play
for creatively, but we're grateful for the impact Damon has made on our
business and our culture," Rebelo says.

Says Stapleton: "Saatchi
Sydney has been my crazy Aussie family. It's a special agency. When you
walk through the front door you feel like special things can happen.
I'm very proud of what we've achieved and I know the agency is going to
be enormously successful in the future."

Rebelo says Stapleton's departure presents a new opportunity for Saatchi Sydney to further push the agency's creative product.

"Damon
has built a strong and genuine culture of creativity. We have great
foundations in place, ambitious clients and some awesome talent. I'm
excited about the potential to take our creative product to a new level
with a new creative leader at the wheel," he says.

Rebelo says
that a national and global search for a new ECD is well underway and an
announcement about Stapleton's successor will be made in the near
future.

Great guy, a huge loss for Saatchi's. Bitchy comment "...take our creative product to a new level with a new creative leader...". Saatchi's were in danger of being professional and magnanimous up until that point.

I worked with Damon and he is one of the best ECD's around. Most Ecds that have done the tough jobs knows the time and effort it takes to get the bling out of an agency. He would of probably got there in the next 12 months or so but clearly got a plumb offer, cashed in his chips and decided to move on. All power to him. Good on ya Damon.

Saatchi's needs to win the confidence of anyone looking at the role. If you get swiped on the way out what's the point?
A bit of class might come in handy, no?
Damon is well regarded not just here but worldwide and creative people chatter a lot more than you think, you might want to remember that when you try and get people off of the amazing looking candidate list and across the line...

The way I heard it was that Damon made the decision a couple of months back. But, the quote made it sound like it was Saatchi's call. Which, by the sounds, it wasn't........dodgy move to have a go at him on the way out. Be hard to convince the next person into that chair. Time to get out the big check book.

Credit where it’s due. He and his team have put on a lot of business since he started which would have pleased the bean counters in New York no end. But the work coming out of the Sydney office has been underwhelming to say the least. Guess the guys at the top wanted the metal too.

Steve Coll did the impossible and turned one of the worst shops in Sydney into a regional powerhouse, which all goes to prove you can do both.

From an outsider looking in, the stuff coming out of there in the last couple of years hasn’t been great. That’s all a creative can judge an agency on - and that’s the work. Saying someone’s is a genius is admirable, but it needs to be backed up with work from his recent tenure, that’s all.

I'm sure if you asked Steve personally, he and a team of hardworking individuals alongside fantastic management turned one of the worst shops in Sydney into an agency that won its fair share of awards.

Because its solely the responsibility of the the ECD to get the great work out, right? Nothing to do with clients or suits who may not buy/sell great work, or network pressure on costs leading to lean creative departments...